


Where the Sea Meets the Sky

by pikaace, Tigerstar



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Abuela's kinda in this too, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blood and Violence, Different Points of View, Don't worry the violent stuff only happen at the beginning, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Kidnapping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Abuse, Pirates, Poaching, Siren!Sonny, Siren!Usnavi, Sirens, Slow Build, Traps, but you'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-02-10 20:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12919359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikaace/pseuds/pikaace, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigerstar/pseuds/Tigerstar
Summary: A long, long time ago, two innocent souls lost their lives to the ocean.Hundreds of years later, a strange creature is discovered in a nearby lake by three friends.





	1. Chapter 1

_‘Ninety-six...ninety-seven...ninety-eight…’_ The sharp sounds of whips filled Usnavi’s ears as his body weakly reacted. He had all but grown numb to the pain by now.

_‘One hundred twenty-two...one hundred twenty-three...one hundred twenty-four…’_ Counting always helped the whole affair seem faster.

Usnavi’s legs had given out below him, letting his body hang from his wrists which were bound above his head. Blood matted the back of his ratty tunic while Usnavi’s head hung, eyes closed and resigned to his fate. Was it worth it? ...Maybe.

_‘One hundred seventy-four...one hundred seventy-five...one hundred-’_

“NAVI!”

Usnavi’s eyes opened as that familiar scream echoed through the dank room. ‘Sonny…’

Usnavi heard footsteps run into the room, “Usnavi!” He heard Sonny scream in terror. “What did you do to him?! Usnavi! Navi!”

“Back off, pipsqueak!” A pirate barked.

“Get ‘im outta here,” Another remarked. Usnavi heard Sonny scream and yell as his voice got farther and farther away, dragging him from the area.

And the counting continued.

* * *

 

_‘Three hundred ninety-nine...Four hundred…’_

“Alright, ‘e’s had enough; cut ‘im down.”

Usnavi’s hearing slowly picked up the ‘ _shu-ing_ ’ of a dagger before he felt the pirate stand next to him, sawing the ropes holding him up. The rope easily broke with a snap and Usnavi lifelessly fell to the ground, the cool, damp wood feeling like a blessing on his sweaty body. He heard the pirate walk away with heavy footsteps, that were soon followed by small fast steps coming towards him.

“Navi!” Usnavi heard Sonny approach and kneel next to him, too afraid to touch him, probably due to the state of his back. “Oh god, Navi…” Sonny whimpered. “Navi, no...Navi!” Usnavi’s hand twitched and he tried to make it move; he was so drained, he just wanted to lie there forever.

He felt Sonny grip his hand and move to where his head was. “Navi…!” Usnavi slowly rolled his head to the side, barely seeing his cousin’s tear-stained and dirty face through his blurry vision.

“Mijo…” Usnavi rasped. He wanted to reach up and tenderly touch Sonny’s face, but his arm was just about useless. He settled with squeezing Sonny’s hand. “It’s okay, mijito…” Usnavi whispered, his words running together from fatigue. “It’s okay…”

More tears came to Sonny’s eyes and he pressed his face to Usnavi’s hand as he sobbed. Usnavi had uttered that same mantra almost every night; with every punishment, every beating he took, he had to stay strong for Sonny. The peace was soon interrupted, however, when heavy and slow footsteps approached them. Usnavi knew those footsteps well and squeezed Sonny’s hand tighter as the shadow of the captain hung over them.

“Well now, seems you’ve learnt yer lesson,” The captain sneered. The man lifted his boot and barely stepped on Usnavi’s back, making him yelp and whimper in pain. “Remember this, lad; I went easy on ye,” He said dangerously.

“You…” Sonny growled and slowly stood up, “You son of a bitch!” Sonny lunged at him, but the captain easily kicked the boy to the ground. Usnavi opened his mouth to protest, but no noise came out of his mouth.

“Take ‘em on deck!” The captain ordered. “It’s time fer these boys to pay the price of their servitude.”

The other pirates laughed, almost giddily, and Usnavi felt two pairs of dirty hands grab his arms, while another pirate easily grabbed Sonny and hauled him to his feet. The face of another pirate entered Usnavi’s vision as he knelt down towards his bloody face. “Rise and shine, lad!” The pirate sneered, squeezing Usnavi’s cheeks and lightly shaking his head.

“Stop it!” Sonny yelled. Usnavi could only stare dully at him before they started to move. “Look lively, lad!” A pirate said, slapping Usnavi’s injured back, making him squeak in pain as that was all he had the energy left to do.

“Don’t touch him!” Sonny yelled desperately, fighting the pirates dragging them up onto the deck. Usnavi’s whole body was bruised and broken, not allowing his legs to bother supporting him. At least he could still take comfort in that they hurt him instead of Sonny. He’d do anything to keep his baby cousin from feeling this pain. He could hear Sonny yelling in fear, his mind told him to help but his body refused to respond to him. He was exhausted, and could do nothing but let himself be dragged to… wherever they were going.

“No! Leave him alone!” Sonny begged. Usnavi felt himself be dropped down on the deck.

“Tie ‘em up tight, weigh ‘em down; I wan’ ‘em off this ship by the end of the hour.” the captain said. Usnavi let out a weak yelp as his arms were wrenched behind his back and lashed together with rope.

“No!” Sonny screamed.

Usnavi heard a crunching sound and a pirate screamed, “OW! Why, you god-damned li’l cur!” he snapped, he heard a slapping noise and Sonny cried out in pain.

Usnavi forced his eyes open. Sonny was on the ground before two pirates pinned him, tying his wrists behind him in the same manner. “Don’t-don’t hurt him.” he slurred desperately; he had been protecting Sonny for the last ten years, he could do it again. Usnavi was ignored, he felt his legs being bound and something heavy was tied to him. The pirates dragged him across the deck to the railing and he heard Sonny yelling for them to leave him alone.

He was lifted up and he could only spare a dull glance at Sonny before the pirates let him fall over the railing. Usnavi heard Sonny scream and he hit the water.

His vision was filled with green and blue as the water immediately closed around him. He jerked awake and cried out as his body stung from the saltwater biting his raw, open skin. Only bubbles came out of his mouth as he writhed in pain, barely remembering that he was underwater and he couldn’t breathe. He looked up and the rough, barnacle covered wood of the bottom of the ship entered his vision; he had no time to react.

He felt the rough bottom of the ship drag across his back, ripping his tunic and making him tumble about before he continued to sink. He thrashed desperately against his bonds, he couldn’t breathe oh god it hurt. He saw Sonny hit the water above him and sink just like he did, as something was weighing him down too.

_‘No!’_ Usnavi tried once again to struggle free, but it was no use. Bubbles flew from Usnavi’s mouth as he screamed, watching Sonny be knocked about by the bottom of the ship. Sonny began to sink once again, but he wasn’t moving, not even putting up a fight. No, no no no, this couldn’t be!

Usnavi struggled with his remaining breath, trying desperately to get to his cousin, until his chest tightened. He had no air left. Usnavi’s struggles slowed to a painful stop and his vision began to blur, his eyes still on his motionless baby cousin. This was it. He had failed to protect him.

_‘Sonny…’_ A few final bubbles escaped from his lips and his vision finally went black.

Little did he know that the eyes of the ocean were watching him. The ocean smiled sadly and reached out to the two lifeless humans, surrounding them with her power. 

* * *

 

The first thing Usnavi registered was that he was breathing. That...wasn’t right. Unless he was dead. That had to be it. He felt like he was floating and his body no longer stung from his injuries. In fact, he felt no pain at all. He was definitely dead.

Though he didn’t want to, Usnavi slowly cracked his eyes open to see...blue...and green. Usnavi looked around; he wasn’t sure what he expected the afterlife to look like. Mama and Papi had told him that it was a beautiful place full of life but this...looked quite the opposite.

Usnavi eventually looked up to see the sun shining down through gentle waves. Wait...waves? He was still in the ocean?! Usnavi immediately began to flail and choke, grabbing his neck when his fingers brushed something on the side of his neck. He felt little slits in his flesh but they didn’t hurt.

He pulled his hand away and stared down in shock at it. Patches of light shimmery blue scales dotted the back of his hand, arms and fingers. Thin layers of skin stretched between his fingers, webbing them, and long claws protruded from his fingernails. He moved his fingers around, the webbing folding neatly as he did; he retracted and protracted the claws. What was happening to him?!

Usnavi looked around for something reflective, grabbing a shiny piece of scrap metal off of the ocean floor he stared at his reflection. Where his ears had once been were small blue fins, it was strange, he could still hear just fine, even better, if anything. His teeth were now razor sharp and his pupils were thin slits.

Usnavi dropped the scrap metal and examined the rest of his body; his ripped tunic was gone...and so were his legs. In their place was a long fishtail covered with a mix of red and blue scales. Usnavi stared at tested it, making it flick and twitch; what was going on?

Usnavi then heard a soft moan from behind him. He turned around to see a figure in the distance; he squinted and made out a head of curly hair, combined with a voice he knew so well.

“Sonny…?” Usnavi slowly made his way towards the figure, trying his best to make use of his arms and new tail, but it was harder than it looked. As Usnavi drew closer, it was definitely Sonny and...he had a tail too!

“Sonny!” Usnavi called as he got closer.

Sonny seemed to still be in the process of waking up as he sluggishly moved and lifted his head. “N...Navi?” He croaked. Usnavi gripped Sonny’s shoulders and the boy blinked awake even more. Looking his cousin over, Usnavi saw no injuries on him either; they were both completely healed. ...And they both had fins, gills, and tails.

“Navi!” Sonny cried.

“Oh, Sonny!” Usnavi pulled Sonny to his chest in a tight hug that the boy quickly returned, a string of confused and relieved statements pouring out of their mouths.

“You’re alive!”

“I can’t believe it!”

“I saw you sink!”

“I thought we were gonna die!”

“I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Usnavi showered his cousin with kisses as Sonny clung tightly to him, their tears mixing with the salt water around them. After a few moments of silence, Sonny spoke, not letting go of his cousin, “Usnavi?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened to us?”

Usnavi took a deep breath, “I wish I knew, mijo.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Hundreds of years later…_

  
The sun rose over the small Rhode Island forest, the sun shining off the large lake that marked the end of the isolated little forest. A small cabin lay nestled in the area between the water and the forest.

“Rise and shiiiiiine!”

Vanessa groaned and covered her head with her pillow. She heard Nina giggle, “C’mon Benny, you too! Up and at ‘em!”

“Nooo…” Benny protested, his face in his pillow. “It’s too early for this…”

Nina sighed and put her hands on her hips, “Okay, well whoever gets up and helps me with breakfast gets first serving, so what’s it gonna be?”

Vanessa peeked out from under her pillow to give her a glare, “You’re evil…” She muttered. Nina gave an innocent smile and skipped out of the room, full of morning energy. Waking up early for her morning extra-credit classes had ruined her.

“Aren’t you gonna go?” Benny asked.

Vanessa scoffed, “She’s your girlfriend, you do it.”

Benny groaned seeing her point and got out of bed, “The sacrifices I make for the perfect girl…” He muttered, a smile pulling at his face.

“Don’t forget, this ‘perfect girl’ makes you blueberry pancakes!” Nina called from downstairs. That was enough to get Benny moving a bit faster. Vanessa lingered under her covers for a while longer after Benny left until she finally forced herself awake. She got dressed and headed downstairs only to see Benny and Nina in the kitchen partaking in what she could only describe as cooking-cuddling.

“I’m gonna go for a walk,” Vanessa announced; they were probably gonna be a while and hey, three’s a crowd.

“Okay, don’t go too far!” Nina called.

“And Careful!” she heard Benny yell, “Wouldn’t want the lake monster to get you, would you?” he said jokingly.

Vanessa flipped him off good-naturedly and headed out the door. They had all heard the legend from the locals, about some kind of monster living in the lake. It had scared them as children but became an inside joke as they got older. Vanessa took a deep breath through her nose as she walked down the path towards the lake.

Nina was right; coming out here with her and Benny was a great idea. They had been coming here since they were children, staying for a few weeks every year. It was nice, being away from the city, no traffic or smog. The only con was lack of cell service, but Nina had been telling her that being out in nature and off a screen was good for her, so Vanessa could suck it up. She could appreciate the silence, especially when there were no fisherman or conspiracy freaks looking for the legendary Lake Monster.

As she walked, she failed to realize that a pair of gentle brown eyes were staring at her from the water. The eyes watched with a tenderness and curiosity until she disappeared. The creature retreated back underwater, hoping she would come back.

* * *

When Vanessa arrived back at the house, she spied a small rock sitting right in front of the door. Vanessa picked it up, revealing it to be a light purple geode. Vanessa sighed and tossed it over the railing of the porch; those things kept constantly showing up at their doorstep. This had to be the fourth one since they arrived two days ago. Vanessa looked around to see if she could spot the culprit, but there was nothing; just the soft sounds of the lake. Vanessa went inside, thinking nothing more of it.

  
Usnavi peeked out of the water as Vanessa went inside the house, feeling discouraged. She didn’t like that one either. Perhaps she didn’t know that they were for her? Maybe that was it; he just had to get closer. She used to love them when she was a child. But then again she seemed to really like the red ones the best...yeah he just needed to find another red one!

They weren’t easy to find, but surely there was another one somewhere…

* * *

The next morning, Vanessa went out for another morning walk only to find another geode sitting on the doorstep. This time it was red, and quite sparkly. Vanessa slowly picked it up and examined it; she always like red. Shrugging, Vanessa put it in her pocket and went on her way.

Usnavi’s tail twitched excitedly; she liked it! She kept it! Maybe now he could get closer...maybe she would accept him. Usnavi carefully followed her from under the surface; he was going to have to be careful.

* * *

Vanessa stared off at across the lake from where she was standing on the dock. She glanced downward, picking up a small flat stone at her feet and boredly skipped it across the pond. She turned to walk away and heard something come out of the water, she turned around and another rock was sitting where the other one had been.

Confused she picked it up, and threw it back in the water. She walked down the dock when she heard the splashing again, she looked and again another rock was there, “Hello?” She called, “Who’s there?”

Vanessa picked the rock up, “Benny? Nina? Haha very funny.” She said sarcastically and threw the rock as far across the lake as she could. A webbed hand grabbed on to the edge of the dock and a strange looking creature pulled itself up and put a small geode at Vanessa’s feet. Vanessa stared and the creature stared back for a good few moments of dead silence.

Vanessa would later deny that she screamed, but she did, falling backward and scrambling back to her feet. She ran from the dock as quickly as she could and didn’t look back. She raced into the cabin, slammed the door behind her and pressed her back to it in shock. What the hell did she just see?!

* * *

Usnavi looked up at the human from beneath the surface; he’d been trying to get her attention for… a long time; he wasn’t sure how long but it was a while. He had never seen her up close, only ever from a distance the ten years she’d come here. She was more beautiful than he imagined.

The human picked up the stone on the dock and she threw it across the surface of the water. Swimming down he searched through the rocks and pulled himself onto the dock, she had walked off and he sunk back into the water. A moment passed and she threw it back again. He just needed to find one she’d like. He grabbed another, putting on the dock, and again she threw it back. He searched through the rocks and then he found it. A small half of a purple geode. He looked at the geode in his hand; surely she would like this one.

Usnavi swam up, surfaced, and put the geode at her feet, looking at her hopefully. She stared at him for several moments then she screamed, falling back and getting to her feet and running, he watched her run off, sadness and shame filled him and he swam off, going to the bottom of the lake to hide. He messed up; he messed up big time.

Usnavi blinked as he neared the bottom; it was hard to see down here, even for a siren. He swam forward and suddenly felt something wrap around him. he thrashed trying to get loose, only tangling himself more. He looked down and saw a cross pattern around his upper body that he had feared for so long; a net.

As he thrashed he pressed himself into the jagged rocks beneath him, cutting into his skin. The hooks on the net dug into his skin and he rolled over, only to feel something slam down on his tail and remain clamped. Usnavi screamed in pain as his tail sunk to the bottom of the lake, heavy and useless. A giant metal jaw was clamped around his tail and it hurt! God, it hurt!

Usnavi squirmed about on the rough bottom of the lake and slowly but surely began to move. He had to get away, before the hunters who set this came back! He wouldn’t be caught again! He wouldn’t!

* * *

Vanessa refused to leave the cabin until the next morning. She sent the whole day pacing and rambling about what she had seen. That morning, Benny and Nina decided she needed to put this to rest.

“Come on, Vanessa, there’s nothing out there; you either imagined it or just saw a weird skinny dipper or something.” Nina insisted as she and Benny pulled her along the bank.

“I know what I saw, Nina! It tried to touch me with its freaky little fish hands.” she said, shuddering. Nina rolled her eyes.

“You sound like that crazy old man from the bait store,” Benny said. Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Which one? ‘I-done-seen-it’ or ‘chased-Lincoln-with-a broom?” Nina asked.

“‘I-done-seen-it.’ Hey, look on the bright side though,” Benny pointed out. “If you did see some weird thing-”

“I did!”

“-then we could pass it off as the Lake Monster and become famous.”

“We’d need some kind of evidence first,” Nina pointed out. “Eye-witness accounts don’t prove anything.”

“Are you done, or are you gonna keep rubbing in how you don’t believe me?” Vanessa asked.

“You’re the one acting like it’s the end of the world!” Benny protested. “You said that it only tried to touch you!”

“How would you react if a freaky fish guy appeared in front of you?!” Vanessa shot back.

“What could he possibly do; flop around at your feet?”

“That’s true, Vanessa,” Nina piped up, earning a shocked look of betrayal from Vanessa. “If you did really see a fish person, then he should stay in the water; there’s nothing to be scared of.”

Vanessa’s face slowly became a pout and she crossed her arms, “I wasn’t scared,” She muttered.

“I’m pretty sure the whole forest heard you scream,” Benny said flatly.

“I told you to never mention that,” Vanessa hissed dangerously.

“Alright, kids, break it up, or you’re both getting punished,” Nina said, coming between them.

“Don’t you mean, eaten by the Lake Monster?” Benny joked before going out to tickle Nina and Vanessa. Vanessa snorted, running ahead of her friends down the bank. Benny laughed, wrapping his arms around Nina’s waist, when they heard Vanessa scream.

They both broke into a run, finding her standing a few feet from a battered looking man tangled in a net lying half out of the water. No, not man… it had a fishtail from the waist down, the tail was trapped in some sort of trap; it looked similar to a bear trap but without spikes, Vanessa pointed at the creature and turned to look at her friends, “I told you I saw something!” she said. Benny and Nina moved to stand next to Vanessa.

“Is that what I think it is?” Benny asked slowly.

“A siren…” Nina breathed. The three stared at the creature; none of them had seen one this close before, only ever in photographs and science classes. If it were human, it probably would’ve been about their age. It seemed to be unconscious, its breathing was shallow and labored, probably due to the net. They could see many cuts and bruises matching the patterns of the net, implying that the creature had struggled to get free but to no avail.

“I didn’t know sirens lived in salt lakes.” Benny said.

“They don’t,” Nina said. It was probably a good thing they were here; the hunter who set that trap would’ve been ecstatic to find a siren trapped in it.

“Is… is it dead?” Nina asked.

“I don’t know. Poke it with a stick.” Vanessa suggested.

“Benny, go touch it.” Nina ordered.

“What?! Why me?!” Benny asked, looking alarmed.

“Cause she said so; do it!” Vanessa snapped.

Benny sighed, but grabbed a long stick and inched towards the creature. He pulled back a few times as he slowly knelt about a foot from the siren and reached towards it with the stick. Just when Benny was inches away...the siren’s eyes opened.

Everyone jumped back as the siren began to squirm and struggle against the net, fear in its eyes. The net began to cut more into its skin, and Vanessa hurried forward to try hold it still, “No, no, don’t do that!” She exclaimed. “You’re just gonna make it worse!” The siren stared at her, seeming to recognize her and started to still.

Nina took the opportunity to step closer and kneel down next to Vanessa, “It’s okay,” She said in gently, touching its shoulder. “We’re not gonna hurt you.” Nina looked over at Benny, “Help us get it free!”

“What?! Why?! Sirens eat people, remember?!” Benny exclaimed.

“There has never been a recorded death by a siren where they didn’t provoke it first, just help us!” Nina snapped back.

Benny hesitated, but he came back to his spot, the siren looking up at him warily. “Alright, just hold still.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. He pulled the blade out, but the siren’s eyes widened in pure terror and it began to flail again, but with more vigor to get away.

“No, stop!” Vanessa exclaimed as the cuts began to bleed.

“No! Don’t hurt me, please!” The siren cried, squeezing its eyes shut as it struggled to get away, “No, no!”

“We’re trying to help you!” Benny exclaimed.

“Stop, you’re gonna hurt yourself!” Nina cried. Not knowing what else to do, Vanessa, Nina and Benny, grabbed the siren by the net to hold it still. Nina began working at the contraption around its tail while Benny began sawing the net away. Meanwhile, Vanessa tried in vain to get the siren to keep still. The siren stilled, not strong enough against their combined efforts, but still obviously terrified and trembling.

Benny finally finished cutting away the net from around its body when it thrashed harshly. Despite how much it had to hurt with the trap still stuck on its tail, it slammed its tail into Benny’s stomach and he fell back, doubled over in pain. Both of the girls screamed and moved away from the siren, it desperately dragged itself off the bank and disappeared into the water.

* * *

Usnavi was terrified, he could feel their hands on his body as he struggled against the net. Oh god, were they going to kill him? He saw the big one pull something out of his pocket and pull a blade out of it, no, god no he couldn’t go through this again!

“No! Don’t hurt me, please!” he begged. The three of them pinned him to the ground and he stilled, shaking in terror, he felt the net being cut away from him, the human was leaned over him as he cut away the net from his dorsal fin, a plan formed in his mind, this very well could be the only chance he had at getting away.

As the net was cut away, forcing himself to ignore the pain he hit the human as hard as he could. He fell over and the other two moved away from him. Dragging himself with his hands he pulled himself into the water. He pulled himself across the bottom as his tail was completely useless with the trap it was in. At least the net was off; getting this tail thing off would be no trouble...right?

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanessa, Nina, and Benny couldn’t help but stare at the water, frozen at the recent events. “What...just happened?” Nina asked softly.

“What did we just do?” Benny added.

Vanessa swallowed, “I think we found out what the Lake Monster is.”


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t long before they saw the siren again. In fact, they caught glimpses of it almost every few hours, but it always fled when it realized it was being watched. No more rocks showed up at the doorway after they freed it, and Vanessa couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, something she never thought she’d feel about a siren of all things. They had really scared it when they freed it, not to mention she probably spooked him when she screamed at the sight of him. 

Feelings were conflicting inside her whenever that siren came up in her head and she didn’t know why. One day, while Vanessa, Nina, and Benny were sitting out by the docks, it was nearing sunset when Vanessa saw the siren laying on some rocks sticking out of the water; the trap was still crushing it tail. Maybe that’s why it had been so scarce lately; it probably couldn’t swim very well with that thing on it.

Though she couldn’t tell from far away, it looked like the siren was trying to pry it off it’s tail, but everyone knew those things didn’t come off easy. Vanessa frowned in determination and slid into the water, still warm from the summer sun.

“What are you doing?” Nina asked as she began to wade out to it. 

“I’ll be right back,” Vanessa said, ignoring their yells for her to come back. As she got closer she could see the siren was holding a large rock and repeatedly hitting the trap with it, it looked up and froze as she got close. Baring its teeth at her, it tensed up.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Vanessa said, holding her hands up in a “I surrender” motion, coming a little closer, “That thing must hurt. I could try and get it off for you.” she offered softly, the siren looked at her suspiciously, but nodded slowly. It was still holding the rock, like it was ready to hit her if she tried to hurt it. 

Vanessa reached out for the trap; it flinched away at first, then let her grab onto the trap. Carefully she pulled it; it was easier after it had beat the trap with the rock. She was easily able to pry the broken trap off. The siren looked at her and his now free tail with wide eyes like it couldn’t believe what had just happened. Vanessa smiled and threw the now useless trap into the water. 

“Thank you…” the siren mumbled. 

Vanessa gave a tentative smile, not wanting to scare it away. “My name’s Vanessa, do you have a name?” she asked it. 

The siren hesitated for a moment “...Usnavi.” it said quietly. Okay, so far so good.

“How did you end up here? Sirens don’t live in lakes, right?” Vanessa asked. 

The siren nodded, “Hurricane. There was flooding, I got stuck here.” it said. 

Vanessa blinked in confusion. “Hurricane? But there hasn’t been a hurricane here since the 1770s, and that was almost 200 years ago.” 

The siren looked confused. “200 years...?” He paused and looked at the ground like he was thinking. “What year is it now?”

“2008,” Vanessa said. 

Usnavi blinked. “Oh.” it sucked in a breath, “Oh god, I’ve been here longer than I thought!” it said, then it pulled itself forward and slid off the rock into the water.

“Hey!” Vanessa exclaimed. She went on all fours and stared at the water, as if she would be able to easily spot him. A few moments later, she heard a splash and looked over towards the large pile of rocks that formed the back part of the lake. Usnavi was at the base and trying to climb up them. Climbing that wall was no problem, and it lead to a great view of the outside of the forest; but Vanessa quickly realized that having a tail did you no favors for climbing as Usnavi kept slipping off over and over again. 

Vanessa watched for a while, expecting him to give it up after about the sixth or seventh try, but he kept going. He was desperately trying to climb, almost throwing himself at the rocks like something was chasing him. With no other choice, Vanessa got back into the water and waded out towards Usnavi, the water reaching her shoulders, allowing her to use her arms to swim. She arrived just as Usnavi fell back into the water.

“What are you doing?” She asked when Usnavi’s head resurfaced. 

“I have to get out,” Usnavi said softly, panic rising in his voice. “I have to get out!” He tried to climb again, but easily slipped off with a yelp. He came back up, his face drawn with pain and Vanessa spied red cuts on his hands. Vanessa couldn’t help but gasp as Usnavi jumped back onto the rock wall, seemingly swallowing the pain. He fell off again, his hands sporting more bloody cuts. 

“Okay, stop!” Vanessa said, swimming towards him. “You’re gonna cut up your hands!”

“I don’t care!” Usnavi cried, and jumped up yet again, trying to use his tail to climb higher. “I have to get back! The ocean is this way, I can feel it!” Usnavi slipped back off, but this time his back hit one of the rocks on the way down. Vanessa winced and spied Usnavi curling up in pain below the surface, only to get back up to the surface and face his obstacle yet again. 

“Stop!” Vanessa lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Usnavi’s waist from behind, keeping him from swimming back to the rocks. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” 

“Sonny!” Usnavi cried. “I have to get back to Sonny! He’s all alone out there, I have to keep him safe!” 

“You should really focus on keeping yourself safe!” Vanessa bit out, trying to keep her hold on him. “Let go of me!” Usnavi cried, pushing against her arms, “I have to get out of here! I have to try!” 

“You can’t!” Vanessa yelled, the sharpness in her voice making Usnavi stop. “You can’t get out of here; even if you climbed up there, it’s nothing but five miles of forest and farms until the ocean.” Usnavi’s face became crushed, making Vanessa feel a bit guilty, but she didn’t relent. “You’d just be throwing your life away; you can’t get back to the ocean that way.” 

Usnavi seemed to slump in her grasp so Vanessa slowly released him. Usnavi gazed up at the rock wall, “Then what am I supposed to do?” He asked softly. “I can’t stay here, I’ve been gone for way too long…” He moved and gently placed his hand on the rock wall. “Sonny, I’m so sorry…” He whispered, gazing up at the top. 

Vanessa slowly swam next to him, “Who’s Sonny?” She asked gently, recognizing the name from earlier. 

“My little cousin,” Usnavi answered softly. 

There was a pause, so Vanessa pressed further, “Are you close?” 

Usnavi shook his head, “You have no idea,” He said. “He’s all I have left; I’ve kept him safe for so long and now...”

“What happened?” Vanessa pressed. “Where is he?” 

“Back in the ocean; the hurricane separated us…” Usnavi bit his lip, “Now he’s all alone out there, and I can’t just leave him! He could be hurt, or captured by hunters! I’m supposed to be there for him and I’m stuck here!” Usnavi’s eyes seemed to be glassing over with tears, leaving Vanessa at a loss for words; she didn’t know sirens had families. 

“I’m sorry,” She said; it was all she could say. After another bout of silence, Vanessa cautiously reached out and took Usnavi’s arm, “C’mon; you’ve gotten hurt enough today.” They swam back to the boulder and both hoisted themselves up to sit on the lowest point.

“Are your hands okay?” Vanessa asked. Usnavi winced as he held them up, so Vanessa took them, not waiting for an answer. She grimaced at the cuts on them, but luckily, they didn’t seem too deep up close. “I think you’ll be fine,” She said. 

“ Really?” Usnavi asked.

“Just no more rock climbing until then,” Vanessa said. Usnavi gave an uneasy smile but still looked pretty down. Vanessa then noticed that the sun was almost gone. “Well, I better get back,” She said. “Better show my friends that I haven’t drowned.” She started to move. 

“Wait!” Vanessa paused. Usnavi had his mouth open as if to say something, but closed it to look down shyly, “...Thank you…” He said softly. “For, getting the trap off and...the net...earlier…” 

Vanessa smiled, “You don’t have to be scared of us,” She said. “You think...maybe we could talk more, like, later on?”

“About what?” Usnavi asked, a bit of fear in his voice. 

“Just, you know, about you, about me, regular stuff,” Vanessa managed.

A small smile pulled at Usnavi’s face, “Y-Yeah...I’d...like that,” He said. 

“Great,” Vanessa said enthusiastically, only for silence to greet them again. “So...I’ll, uh, see you later, then.” She slid off the boulder and into the water.

“O-Okay,” Usnavi called after her. Vanessa swam back to the shore, where Benny and Nina were still waiting for her.

“Vanessa!” Nina exclaimed. “Don’t just go off like that without warning us!” 

“Man, I thought that thing was gonna eat you or something! What happened?!”

Vanessa waited for their questions to stop before speaking. “Nina? Did you bring your laptop?” 

Nina frowned, “Yeah, why?”

“I’m gonna need you to get us something that can tell us everything about sirens.” 

“Why?” Benny asked. 

“Trust me; I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.” 

As Vanessa and her friends traveled back to the cabin for the night, Usnavi sat on the rock and stared up at the starry sky. “Sonny…” He whispered.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the ocean, a small siren sat on a boulder of his own. He stared at the vast ocean surrounding him, the stars covering the sky like a blanket. “Usnavi…” Tears came to his eyes and a melancholic melody poured from his mouth, echoing softly across the water with the hope that his cousin would hear his pleas to come home.

* * *

 

_ (The next day) _

“Okay,” Nina said, sitting on her bed in their bedroom with her laptop open, “There we go, sirens.” She pulled up a website, a photograph of a female siren holding a spear, staring into the camera and looking alarmed was at the top and below was a wall of information. 

“‘Sirens, scientific name  _ Homo Mermus, _ are semi-common but elusive species that live mostly in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans,” she began to read aloud, “While their origin is unknown, it’s hypothesized that sirens are humans who evolved due to living in or with the ocean for many years. They make tools and weapons out of animal bone and-” 

Vanessa cut her off, “Just get to the part about family!” She had told Nina and Benny about Usnavi and now they needed answers.

“Okay, okay!” Nina said and scrolled down “Sirens have relationships and dynamics similar to humans and are considered pack animals, hunting together in packs and living together in small communities. Sirens mate for life and are highly protective of said mates and family, to the point of doing anything to ensure their safety. Dead and dying sirens have been found on land trying to return to their families in the sea when separated from them.” she read.

“Sirens are extremely protective of their children, called pups, and homosexual and infertile couples are known to adopt abandoned or orphaned pups, regardless of blood relation or not. A somewhat common phenomenon it called cognata, when the parents of closely related sirens, typically siblings or cousins, die and the older adopts and raises the younger.” 

Vanessa slowly nodded, “So...a siren won’t stop until it’s back with its family after this...cognata-thing?”

“Cognata creates a strong bond between two sirens, probably stronger than any bond ever.” Nina responded, typing on her laptop. “And if a pup is involved, the elder won’t stop looking for it no matter what.” 

“So it basically doesn’t know the meaning of ‘give up’.” Benny commented. 

Nina nodded sadly, “Even if it takes them a thousand years, two sirens in cognata will do anything to get back to one another; family’s just that important to them.” 

Vanessa slowly nodded, her mind spacing out; that was why Usnavi was so intent on climbing that rock wall. “He told me that Sonny was his little cousin, that he was all he had left,” She said.

“They must’ve gone through cognata, making Sonny his pup,” Nina added, putting the pieces together. “And they’ve been separated since the hurricane, 200 years ago...they must be devastated!”

“How is he still alive anyway?” Benny asked. “If sirens are just humans who evolved in water, why aren’t their lives short like ours are?” 

Nina looked through the article “Sirens have extremely long lifespans, the oldest one ever discovered was found in 1872 is estimated to have been born sometime in the early 10th century. Scientists believe the reason for this is when they were beginning to evolve the ocean was extremely dangerous, in a survival of the fittest environment natural selection played out and caused sirens to be more physically evolved than humans in some ways, this is also believed to be the explanation for the hypnotism in their songs.” 

“And...you’re sure they’ve never eaten anyone just cause?” Benny asked. 

“All records of siren attacks have been from hunting ships who were waving and shooting nets at them, so no, sirens don’t just blindly attack,” Nina said firmly. “They have more sentience than any other creature in this world; they’re literally humans with tails.”

“What do they eat?”

Nina and Benny blinked at the sudden question from Vanessa. “What?” 

“What do sirens eat?” Vanessa repeated. 

“Uh…” Nina scrolled down some more. “On their own, sirens tend to eat fish, and hunt in packs to take down larger animals like sharks or whales.” 

Vanessa furrowed her brow and then stood up. “Alright! I made the decision.” she said 

“What decision?” Nina asked.

“Benny, go to the nearest fishing store and get the biggest cooler you can find, we’re stealing a siren.” Vanessa ordered. 

“What!? Vanessa wait we can’t just take a live siren back to the city!” Benny exclaimed, getting to his feet. 

“Sure we can, who’s gonna stop us?” Vanessa said. 

“Uhh, like four laws and two environmental acts, it’s  _ extremely  _ illegal we’ll be put in prison for god knows how long, we  _ can’t! _ ” Nina said. 

“Nina, the answer is simple; nothing’s illegal if you don’t get caught.” Vanessa replied.

“ _ That’s a terrible answer! _ ” Nina yelled. 

“I know, now are you helping me or not? Either way I’m not leaving here without him.” Vanessa said. 

Both of them looked like they wanted to protest but didn’t. “Fine, we’ll help.” The girls sent Benny to get the cooler and they wandered out to the lake to fill it up, as they did they found that it was oddly quiet, even more than usual. 

They went to the edge of the dock and Vanessa scanned the rocks for any sign of the siren. “Usnavi?” Vanessa called. “Usnavi, are you there? It’s Vanessa!” There was no answer. 

“Maybe he’s still asleep?” Benny suggested. 

“It’s almost noon,” Nina pointed out.

“Usnavi!” Vanessa called again. “C’mon Usnavi, it’s okay! Come out!” No answer. Vanessa shook her head in confusion, “He’s gotta be somewhere…” The three wandered along the bank, on the slight chance that they would find him trapped in another net, but no such luck. Until- 

“Hey, look!” Nina called, kneeling at the bank. 

“What?” Benny asked. “Doesn’t this part of the bank look a bit...muddy?” Nina asked, brushing the ground.

“...It’s a lake; of course it’s muddy,” Benny said flatly. 

“Yeah, but not this far out,” Nina said, gesturing to the area around them, a good three feet away from the water. “This lake doesn’t have waves, so there’s no way water would make it here.” 

Vanessa frowned and stood up looking around until she gazed behind them. “Uh guys?” Nina and Benny stood up and saw a visible damp trail leading away from the pond. 

“Does this lake have alligators?” Benny asked uneasily. 

“No,” Nina answered easily. 

“Well then, what literally crawled out of this water hole?” Benny asked. Vanessa stared at the trail and how big it was; it looked big enough to belong to Usnavi, but why would he drag himself out of the water? 

Vanessa sucked in a breath and Nina’s words echoed in her head, _‘Sirens are extremely protective of their children, called pups…Dead and dying sirens have been found on land trying to return to their families in the sea when separated from them…’_

Flashes of Usnavi trying to climb the rock wall flashed in her eyes. _‘Sonny! I have to get back to Sonny! He’s all alone out there, I have to keep him safe!’_

“Shit…” She breathed.

“What?” Nina asked. 

“His cousin,” Vanessa said softly, before her voice rose to a panic. “He’s going back to the ocean for his cousin!” 

It took Nina a second to put the pieces together. “Sirens in cognata won’t stop until they’re together again,” Nina said in horror. “He’s trying to drag himself to the ocean!” 

“Doesn’t he know that getting to the ocean from here is suicide?!” Benny exclaimed. 

“We have to find him!” Vanessa yelled. “C’mon!” 

“What about the cooler?” Benny asked. 

“No time! Let’s go!” Vanessa shot back. They all ran to Benny’s car and piled in. They sped off down the dirt road and Vanessa glued herself to the window. 

“He couldn’t have gotten far,” Nina said, also watching out the window. Vanessa really hoped Nina was right. After nearly half an hour, Vanessa was starting to lose hope, when she spied a long tail among the trees. “There he is!” Vanessa yelled, pointing. 

Benny slammed on the brakes and Vanessa jumped out of the car, running up to the unmoving siren. “Usnavi!” He didn’t respond; he was lying on his stomach, his gills weakly fluttering as he softly wheezed for air. He looked exactly like a fish when it was out of the water for too long, but since he looked so human, it made the sight all the more unsettling. Usnavi’s scales were pale and almost devoid of color. Vanessa brushed them and they felt like they would slide off with the smallest amount of effort. 

_‘You idiot…’_ Vanessa thought silently. _‘I told you getting to the ocean this way was suicide!’_

“Help me!” Vanessa yelled back to the car. “He’s still alive!” Nina and Benny hurried over and took in his state.

“Oh man…” Benny breathed. 

“C’mon, we have to get him back to the lake!” Nina exclaimed. 

The three of them grabbed a part of Usnavi and lifted him together.  “How long does he have?” Vanessa asked as they hurried to the car. 

“Sirens can only breathe air for a few hours before they need to go back in the water; he's probably been out here for a while, so we have to hurry!” Nina answered. They managed to slide Usnavi into the backseat and Vanessa climbed in after, while Benny and Nina leapt into the front seats. 

“Step on it, Benny!” Nina exclaimed. Benny did just that and they sped off back towards the lake. 

“Okay, we just pull up and dump him in and he’ll be fine?” Benny said, eyes on the road. 

“If he’s still alive,” Nina agreed. 

But as the lake came into view, Benny slammed on the brakes, making Vanessa almost topple with Usnavi. “What the hell?!” She exclaimed. “Why’d you stop?” 

“We got company,” Benny said. Vanessa and Nina looked to see a large familiar van parked at the lake with many people getting out. Things had just gotten complicated. The trio all looked at each other and then all gazed back at Usnavi, who was still barely wheezing; now what were they supposed to do?


	4. A/N

Hi, Tigerstar here and I have some bad news. This story has been on and will continue to be on hold for a while as in January I was sent to a residential treatment center, this is my first time back on the internet since then as I am currently on a home visit. My goal is to be out of it by October or November so I would give sometime then as a possible update time. I'm sorry.

 

-Tigerstar


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